Chiefs finish fourth at Deer Lodge
<p>Cassidy Cheff uses an iron to get to the green two weeks ago at the Chiefs and Maidens’ home meet.</p>
DEER LODGE — As it heads into the last leg of the season, the Ronan golf team is stringing together performances that should make other golfers wary of what they can do at divisionals this weekend.
At the Deer Lodge Invitational on Saturday, April 28, the Chiefs battled tough competition and ugly weather to finish tied for fourth in the five-team field, showing a 380, just 19 strokes back of the third-place hosts.
DEER LODGE — As it heads into the last leg of the season, the Ronan golf team is stringing together performances that should make other golfers wary of what they can do at divisionals this weekend.
At the Deer Lodge Invitational on Saturday, April 28, the Chiefs battled tough competition and ugly weather to finish tied for fourth in the five-team field, showing a 380, just 19 strokes back of the third-place hosts.
“They did OK,” head coach Rupe Paulson said. “It was cold, the wind was howling. A couple golfers were wrapped up in blankets. We had two varsity and two JV golfers and the boys played OK. It was a good day.”
The shorthanded Chiefs saw all four boys break 100, with Payton Adams shooting a 91, Chase Rhine posting a 94, Austin Hakes carding a 96 and Lukas Conklin finishing his round with a 99.
The JV golfers have stepped up in recent weeks, helping fill the void left from week to week.
“Chase and Austin are feeling way more comfortable going out there,” Paulson said. “They were very tickled about their performance, as was I.”
The Maidens’ only golfer, Cassidy Cheff, continued her dramatic improvement as a first-year golfer, shooting a 158.
“Cassidy is improving, there’s no doubt about it,” Paulson said. “She had fun.”
Before divisionals on Monday, May 7, Ronan made up a round against Seeley-Swan on Tuesday, May 1 and will head to St. Regis for their last regular season tournament on Thursday, May 3.
“I’m looking for some consistency,” Paulson said. “We have a makeup round at Seeley-Swan on Tuesday and then St. Regis on Thursday. Both courses are narrow with a lot of trees. I’ve been emphasizing that they need to hit the fairway and that will help them for divisionals.”
If the golfers can string together some nice shots, expect some of them to make the trip to state on May 15-16.